(CNN) - A U.S. default on its debt obligations would have "real nasty consequences" for the United States and the global economy, the new director of the International Monetary Fund said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

"It would jeopardize the stability at large," Christine Lagarde, who last week became the first woman to head the global financial institution, told the ABC program "This Week."

Lagarde said the IMF was concerned over the political stalemate in the United States that could prevent agreement on raising the federal debt ceiling, but hoped to see a compromise emerge.